I'm Flyng to New Mexico With Three Kids Under 5.

So this should be interesting! The five of us are going down there on Saturday to stay with my mom. I grew up doing this every few years. (My mom's parents live there). Of course back then I had zero responsibility.
Part of me is sooooo psyched for the SUNSHINE. The desert walks with my mom. Playing cards at night with my 95 year old Grandpa... and the sheer magic that seems to glow from the Sandia's mountains at sunset. I love New Mexico.
The other part of me ( the mom-part) feels slightly terrified. It's just a cross-country vacay for crying out-loud. Why do I feel like I'm about to go cliff-diving? My feelings may be valid for a few reasons.... like I've never taken a baby on a plane. Or a baby, a three year old, and a five year old altogether for that matter. Hopefully I can keep them all entertained and calm. I'll have to write a follow-up post when we get there.
For now I'm in planning mode: How to keep them happy on the plane, and how to keep them from tearing up the home of elderly ppl who are used to the sounds of silence and the evening news.
1. Bring an ipad. And earphones
2. Bring allergy medicine. Yep - I'm that kinda mom.
3. Bring the one-minute hour-glass timer )for one-minute time-outs)
4. Fave books.
5. Fave baby toys
6. Suckers for the kids. And baby granola bars. Just lots of snacks. And all the bottles.
7. Bring the baby carrier
Gosh I just don't know what else. If anyone has tips do let me know!

Thankfully my husband is coming with. :) Will keep you posted!

Hadassah's Birth Story



Today is my sweet Hadassah's birthday! On this day last year she was born at 2:16pm.  Happy birthday sweetheart! I still cant believe I have a daughter now - and one who we tried hard to prevent at that! You can read the post I wrote back when I was still in a confused state of overwhelmed shock at finding out I was pregnant here.

To celebrate her bday I want to tell her birth story...

It began the day before of course, April 6th. I was 38 weeks pregnant and 4 days. My other two were born at 31 and 37 weeks so this was the longest I had been pregnant and I was in total pain. I know, I know, I can't imagine what it would be like going over-due. Even making it to 40 weeks sounds painful!

She felt soooo heavy, and my joints felt the way a little wooden doll who is breaking apart might feel. I had to hang on the furniture to get into each room because of the joint pain and sciatic stuff.  She had dropped into position at 31 weeks and her head had been very low every since - I felt like I had a bowling ball between my legs.



About 37 Weeks and feeling like I'm gonna pop

Earlier in the pregnancy, I had suffered from Hyperemesis Gravidarum. It's basically where you puke non-stop and feel like death. When that started to let up around 23 weeks, I developed Choleostasis of the liver. It's a pregnancy-induced liver disease that goes away once you give birth. Basically it involves being tired and extreme itching to the point of bloody sores.

I remember the day I went into labor, waddling around scratching my palms while getting out play-dough for the boys. I washed the kitchen floor that day on my hands and knees using gloves for sores on my hands.

I had done everything possible to safely induce labor that week - because the itching at night was killing me. I drank raspberry leaf tea, and yep - ate a pineapple. All the old myths - I tried (only safe ones), except castor oil because I thought that could hurt her. I was in so much pain that I just wanted her out!

Ok this is where it gets weird. Bear with me - I can be a little crunchy. I had heard it said that there is a tribe in Africa where the woman thinks up what the song of her baby is before it is born, and then sings it to the child when it is time to be born. There is some truth to that since we all have an actual tune that coincides with the sequence of our individual DNA. Who better to know it than the mother who carries the child?

My husband got home around 6. At that point I got into the bath-tub and decided to sing to her to come out. I concentrated to feel what I thought what might be her song and then sang it. The bath felt so good because it lightened the weight on my joints. After I dried off, my 2 year old came up to me to have me hold him and I remember leaning against the wall with the pain of a huge contraction.  My husband took him away and had me lay down on my side and drink water to see if it they would subside or if it was indeed real labor.

After he put the boys to bed it was still going on. Contractions every 5 minutes. I had no family around to help me so we had hired a live-in nanny just for that month because the pregnancy sickness was so debilitating and my boys fight like the dickens. We live way out in the country so people from church couldn't just come over and help me daily or anything. 

My husband finally called it and said "this is it, lets grab our bags and I'll start the car". It was ten at night. Quietly in the darkened house we put our bags into the van. I felt weird leaving the boys with their nanny for a hospital stay. Once on the road I told Brandon "Go faster!" I was afraid the baby would just come barreling out of me in the car because I heard they come out easier the 3rd time around. "Hurry!" I said, knowing the hospital was 50 minutes away and my contractions were 2 minutes apart.

halfway there - red lights and sirens behind us. We pulled over as I breathed through a contraction. The cop shined his light on us at Brandon's window. "Any reason you were going so fast?"
Brandon goes "Woman in labor. Literally."
With a knowing smile the cop turned and walked away saying "Get atta here." And we continued flying down the road laughing. True story!

At the hospital, They got me into a room and found I was dilated to a 5. I was so excited to meet her! My midwife Annie had a bassinet brought in and I surveyed the pretty room. grey textured wallpaper and candles. It was close to midnight so I knew her bday would be April 7th, Tuesday.

They advised it was best to get the epidural now if I wanted it. Heck yes! I will never deliver naturally again, as I had a nightmare natural birth with my first, and a lovely epidural with my second.
So I got it and it hurt way more than what I remember from Skipper's epi. I had dilated to a 7 but went back down to a 5 as soon as the epi set in. I figured that would happen but to me - worth it.

So then Pitocin was started and I progressed very slowly from there. The contractions were so exhausting. Nurses dimmed the room to let me sleep and though I tried I could not. I felt so much adrenalin.

I had been on my feet since 9am the day before cleaning/nesting and was very tired but I just could not sleep. Instead I watched the movie "Baby Momma" for some laughs.  At one point I got really upset and told Brandon I wanted my mom and dad there, crying to him. He said "I'll be your mom and dad." Aw, I'll never forget his loving support by my side.

Finally after 19 hours of labor I was ready to push. I was so nauseous, and so hungry. I ate some chips then puked. Then I continued to throw up each time I had to push through a contraction, while Brandon held a bag for me. And that my friends, was the way I gave birth. Puking on and off every time I pushed for 15 minutes until my sweet little girl came into the world! AMAZING. My last birth took had me pushing for 2 whole hours - so this was a fast one for me.

 This was the first time I wanted to put my hand down there and feel her head as she was coming out. That head is a feeling I will not ever forget as long as I live, it was so surreal.

The midwife delivered her and put her on my chest with a warm blanket on us. She was so tiny! I had imagined a large baby inside me because she felt so heavy in my stomach but nope! Just 6lbs and 14 ounces. She was so sweet and delicate. Brandon was smiling next to me.

We talked about what to name her, as this was still undecided. Hadassah was what we loved. But "Israella" was a name I heard in a dream when I was 2 months pregnant with her. Finally we decided to count to 3 and both say the name we wanted. "One, two, three, Hadassah!" We both said it, so it was settled! Our sweet little girl was born into this world this time (almost exactly) last year. Hadassah my little angel, you are my precious jewel.

Creamy Coconut Beauty Pops

I'm ready for summer and feeling tropical! So I created these bad-boys. I'm leaving for New Mexico in 3 days where it's going to be so warm and sunshiny and craving summer-time treats lately.

I think what made this so good was the butter extract and the texture of the coconut flakes was divine! 

Though, I also used an ingredient I don't normally add to my coconut water popscicles: coconut whipped cream. Yum!

I'd say this took it to the next level. Here is the recipe :)

1 1/2 C. Coconut water

2 Tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes

1/4 tsp. Coconut extract 

1/4 tsp. Butter extract

1/4 C. Coconut whipped cream

2 Tbsp pyure sweetener

(OR just sweeten to taste)

2 Tbsp collagen or protein powder. This optional.

1/4 tsp glucomannan or xanthum gum

Directions: 

Mix the glucomannan or xanthum gum and collagen in a small bowl and set aside. 

Next throw the rest of the ingredients in a blender, adding in the whipped cream last.

Slowly pour in the dry bowl mix while the blender is on. 

Finally, pour into popsicle molds and freeze.

Did I mention this is sugar and dairy free?. Also gluten free. Pretty much everything free. You're welcome allergen peeps!  :)

If you're feeling in that coconut mood, here is a yummy coconut bread I make.

Rest In Peace Crazy Bird, And Other News

 I was a bridesmaid this week as my dear friend got married. A sweet perk from that: she had all my kids in her wedding (ring bearers and flower girl).  This enormous event forced all of us to get dressed up on the very same day (gasp!). Do you believe we still didn't get a family picture? I was a busy maid of honor.  There are however, some pics with 2 or 3 of us in them at a time. Observe:

Here's what else is new this week:

1. This straw contraption is awesome. I used it to re-direct today during a meaningless fight they were having. You put on the glasses and watch the liquid get sucked up. Together they took turns and drank 1and a half  liters of coconut water. They wanted to continue because they were having so much fun but I had to be the voice of reason in all this craziness and put an end to the liquid-fest. Afterwards, I convinced them to go downstairs and jump around quietly so they could hear all the water sloshing around in their bellies. They did, and I had 5 treasured minutes of quiet time. To buy it go here.

2.  Two words: Easter. Dress. Not mine - my baby girl's. This was my first Easter with a daughter in my life. I have always wanted to do the whole Easter dress thing with my own little girl! And now I have one and it's every bit as precious as I thought it would be!

3. Breastfeeding and all that jazz is still goin on. We are weaning. We're down to just morning noon and night feedings. Sometimes just morning and night. I can see why some women have called breastfeeding "the long goodbye". It is very bittersweet, this weaning process. Hard to let go. I can't believe she is almost one years old next week! I really thought we'd be nursing longer than this.

 I'm thankful for each feeding. I remember going through this with my now-3-yr-old... I'd often be holding him sentimentally and thinking "this could be my last time nursing him".

4. I'm thankful for a few friends who came over and chatted me up today. Women need each other.

5.  Thankful that my husband has a gun. R.i.p. my poor little chicken Carol! This one is sad.... sigh. I was knee deep in dinner prep by my stove when my hubby peeked his head through the door saying woefully, "You closed the gate on the chickens when I had wanted it open for a reason. One of 'em is cut up pretty badly. She's not gonna make it. Now I gotta go take care of her." He literally had to go shoot her and put her out of her misery.  Which is super sad for him because he is the one who raised them since they were a day old.



Here she is recently, behind Skipper.

I was shocked because I had just been out there collecting their eggs a few hours ago. But it seems a fairly large wild critter attacked one of them and then the hen tried to run into it's fenced-in pen for safety but I had closed the gate and Brandon found her wedged through the wire all torn up but alive.

I'm so sad. she was my favorite. Brandon took care of it and I could not go out there and look.  Oh Carol. Our only white one and she acted as weird as she looked. She was such an oddball that I named her after this meme because of her weirdness:

We would always find her away from the others and in strange places like on the roof. Sigh. Rest in peace you crazy ladybird.

6.  On that note, I'm also thankful I spent extra time sweet-talking the chickens when I collected eggs from the girls a few days ago. I am way too sensitive for this world. In Brandon's words, I would never be able to handle life on a farm.

7.  I'm thankful that I live in the U.S. of A.  I was watching the news this week and was so saddened by what goes on in the middle east. (late night news, where they show more). We have it really good here. I can't believe how some people live, and how little freedom some human beings actually have. It is totally foreign to my psyche.

Well, this post went downhill fast. Anyway, Congratulations Amber! It was a beautiful wedding! Let us dance while we can because life is short.  I'm gonna go drink to that now.

Low Carb Scalloped Potatoes - Make This.

 Creamy Au Gratin Radishes?  You will not be sorry. (I promise they don't taste like radishes).

Recently I was out shopping when my sons started playing with some produce. One of them had this radish in his hand. I thought, that would be cool to experiment with in a scalloped potato-like dish! So I let him put it in his little cart and moved my offspring on to destroy peruse another isle.

I often enjoy cooked radishes. But for this recipe I'm not talking about the little red ones. We're talking daikon radishes. Like a long white carrot.

The result was so good - a rich and creamy comfort food dish....

This recipe surpassed my expectations. I could not believe how good it was! I mean - we're talking radishes here. Not commonly thought of as a very delectable food. Just know that when cooked, they taste completely different than their spicy raw selves. More like a turnip/potato.

On a cold and rainy spring day, this was some pretty awesome comfort food loaded with flavor.

Side Note: I have included a dairy-free option.  For personal reasons, I am usually dairy-free. I am not allergic to dairy but it does make me break out if I eat enough of it so I usually steer clear. I did try this dairy free as well and it was really good! The photos are of the dairy free one with parmesan and almond flour.

Recipe using dairy:               Recipe with no dairy:

1 large daikon Radish.                             
1 C. chopped onions                               
2 Tbps cream cheese             - 2 Tbsp. daiya cream cheese
1/4 C. almond milk
One laughing cow cheese wedge.    -omit
2 Tbsp. Mayonaise                       - Veganaise
2 Tbsp. Parmesan                             - omit
1/4 C. Almond flour (breadcrumbs also work)
Italian seasoning
garlic salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400.

Peel and thinly slice the radish. Combine the cream cheese, milk, and mayo in a small bowl and heat for 30 seconds in the microwave so you can stir it all together well.  Mix in garlic salt and seasoning.

Grease a 9x13 in. pan and layer the radishes, sprinkling the onions on top. Drizzle on the creamy mixture. Sprinkle the almond flour or bread crumbs on top. Sprinkle parmesan over that.

Bake for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Our Botched Attempt At Passover

This year I really wanted to do a Passover family dinner and have it be a tradition. I pretty much bombed but hey - I gave it my best shot with 3 little kids. While I may not be great at making a kosher Jewish meal, we gentiles did have lots of family fun!

I cant wait to get it right next year because the boys loved it!

I wasn't raised to do any sort of Passover dinner. Growing up my family was Christian but we were more Baptist about it (also catholic, Lutheran, and almost Amish but that's another story). One year my mom did go all out and do a serious Passover meal - like we even ate on the floor in sandals with middle eastern music.  In typical unstable-fashion of my chaotic family - this never happened again. Although I always wanted it to.

That's the cool thing about being a grown-up and having your own family right? You get to re-invent family.

Lately I've been pouring over Jewish blogs. Both orthodox and messianic. I just love the Jewish culture and am fascinated by it. What gets me is the family-life and the meaningful rituals. I'm super attracted to the stability and unity of these families, even (and often) in the midst of political and societal unrest.

Their faith is woven into every detail of their lives. There children are not a by-product but are instead everything to these people.  Motherhood is prized and very valued and women are very respected. I'm gonna be blunt here: The modern American culture around me is quite purposeless, boring, and meaningless. It's almost culture-less. I could go on about how I feel about that but that's a whole 'nother post so lets just say - I'm attracted to the Jewish culture a lot for these reasons.

Wanna know how our Passover went? I limped through it so pathetically and am now looking back laughing at myself.

First off - for so many reasons, I had bathed each kid about twice that day. lets just say the day had been way more intense than I'd planned. So then before I knew it the dinner hour was upon me and Brandon was on his way home.

"Let's get this party started" I thought. "Boys! We're eating dinner with our shoes on! I'll tell you why later. Stop hitting him!"

A pause in fighting downstairs to cry "yay!" in exited unison. Fighting resumed.

I sautéed the fish while wondering how to explain to them the Passover story to a 3 and 5 year old without too much weirdness, before concluding that - no - it would just have to be weird. You can't get around that when you're telling them about lambs blood on the doorposts, the angel of death, and a sea split open. 

Once we were all seated I realized how odd the table looked....

 I did get some things right, but most was hilariously wrong. The kosher aspect? Botched.  I had shrimp to use up and wouldn't that be delectable in a lemon cream sauce atop the fish? That one escaped me until it was on the table.

For bread without leaven I just cut up tortillas and had humus out for dippage - which they LOVED.  Thier little eyes were bulging at the part about lambs blood... which might come back to bite me at preschool. Then I put out canned green beans. totally forgot the bitters. And the egg thing. Sigh.
We did get eat with our shoes on though while Brandon read them the Passover story from their illustrated bible.



In summery, the Passover story was told and family-time was had. :) Perfection will wait till next year.
Easter went better. I'm way better at Easter. Below is a pic of my cuties on the day of our Lord's resurrection:

Truffle Fudge (Low-fat, Dairy-Free)

Mmmmm... Fudge. Rich chocolaty velvet. Chocolate in general really. This food group makes me feel like I have attained oneness with the universe.

I just made the naughty kind last week and I'm not sorry. Loads of butter, sugar and chocolate. Didn't make me feel super but it tasted divine! So good that I decided I needed fudge in my life every day this week. And yet - I also wanted to be healthy and feel good because I have blood sugar issues. Liiiittle bit of a dichotomy there....

So I created this recipe for a fudge that is extremely low in fat, yet high in protein, and very low glycemic.

 Nothing wrong with plain old fudge once in awhile. And I'm definitely all about the healthy fats in my life, but if you're looking for a healthy alternative or just something dairy/sugar free... this is your fudge!

Ingredients:

 

2 C. Black beans - I PROMISE no one will no they're in there! Unless you tell...

2/3 C. Chopped dates - I was able to slightly detect these, but in a good way.

1/4 C. Cocoa Powder, unsweetened

1/2 Powdered Erythritol (I use Swerve)

2 Tbsp. PB2 (That's powdered defatted peanut flour)

1/4 C Walden Farms Calorie Free Chocolate Syrup (Feel free to sub almond milk)

1 Tbsp. Coconut oil

1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. salt

Liquid Stevia to taste

 

 

Directions:

 

1. Using a blender, combine the beans, dates, vanilla, and chocolate syrup. 

 

2. Melt the coconut oil and pour into the blender as it's mixing. Really keep that blender going for about 2 or 3 minutes so everything is pulverized well and the texture is smooth. 

 

3. In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Swerve, cocoa powder, salt, and PB2.

 

4. Using a spatula, pour the wet bean/date mixture into a large bowl and incorporate the dry mix.

 

5. Lastly, add liquid Stevia to taste if you'd like it sweeter. I like to combine this with swerve or coconut sugar so there isn't a bitter aftertaste.

 

6. Throw it in the Fridge or freezer for a few hours!

 

 

Tips:

- If you add almond extract and spread it on toast it's a lot like Nuttella.

- Really good when I put little chunks of this in the freezer.

 

I personally like mine in the freezer. As you can see, this fudge is fully approved by my 11-month old taste-tester while she had her oatmeal. ;)

Be That Mom

On Tuesday I started my day already tired from the day before, which began early with me finding my 5 year old inside the dryer.  While instructing my 3year old how to move aside the coats from the coatrack to get the dryer closed so he could turn it on. Later at the gym while changing a massive blow-out, a child-worker: "Ma'am, can you please get your son off our counter."

An hour later at Target while I was getting the baby and 3 year old into the cart, an employee says "Um, Ma'am... your son is underneath that car." I just wanted to scream "Yes I know, I KNOW OKAY?" It's not like he's in danger and I'm trying my best but I'm pulled every which way! He is just always into something. Always almost in danger. Okay fine sometimes it's actual danger too.

 Mom's who have a high energy son like this, can I get a hand-raise and an amen? How is it that he can get every hair on my head standing on end in a second but then melts my heart so incredibly.  All it takes is a dirt-smudged hand on my face and with focused love in his intense blue eyes "Mom, I really love you." He has a real sweetness that boy.

Well by Tuesday I had already had it for the week after dealing with a myriad of chaos that my kids had thrown my way. I was taking them home from pre-school and the day was particularly beautiful out. My fovever-people-starved-5-year-old has been begging me to take him to the park and the zoo and the state fair.  And since the park was right there I thought, "why not?"

First though, a harrowing trip to the grocery store with all three.

I figured I could use the park as a bribe for good behavior. Didn't work but whatever. I tried to be fast in there. My apologies to the employees who have to clean those isles after my boys blew through...

At the park they broke out of my van like bats out of hell. Finally! Just me and the baby while the boys play. We can sit on the park bench and I can talk on the phone with a friend like a real person while I feed baby. Isn't it funny how kids change your definition of multi-tasking? As a parent of only one kid I would've thought that feeding baby + phone call = multi-tasking. Now that seems like alone-time to me.

Anyway, that didn't turn out to be alone-time.  Five year old wont stop hurting the 3 year old, and now the 5 year old is pooping behind a tree. Sigh..  But before I could deal with that, another mom who had been pushing her 4-year old girl on a swing and kinda watching me spoke up and asked wryly, "you gonna nap them all at the same time?"

I told her I was planning on it and does it get easier? She said no, and that she has 7 kids herself. "Here, I'll take her so you can clean him up." I was so thankful as I ran to my van to get that trusty pack of wipes. She gave me some kind wisdom as I cleaned up Buckwheat, then helped me get them all into the van.  

This lady was so nice to me! Her kindness was simple was it not? It's so simple to be kind to people in small ways, and in my tired (in more than one ways) state, kindness from another mother felt like rays of sunshine.

Moms, if you want to be of any influence to each other that matters, do and say things that are positive and useful for that mother.  Speak to each other with words of kindness and mercy. A little love goes a long way.

 I really want to be that mom towards other moms out there. I hope that will be me when my kids are older. This mom of littles job is intense!

Easy Chocolate Peanut Butter "Candybar" Crisps (SF, GF, DF)

Here is a snack to keep in the freezer that you can make with your 5 year old!

There is no sugar, and lots of protein and healthy fats. These are really good and taste like reeses/ kit-kat. I must hold back, lol.

First you'll need to make the chocolate coating.  If there are any Trim Healthy Momma followers, that would just be skinny chocolate. But for those who don't know what the heck I'm talking about, do this:

Chocolate Coating:
Melt the oil, then mix all this together...
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of sea salt
Sweeten to taste with any sugar-free sweetener. I do a mix of xylitol and stevia.

Now, set out your gluten free rice or corn cakes. I had my 5 year-old smear a dollop of peanut butter on each one.

Now drizzle on that chocolaty goodness!

Put them in the freezer to set. The chocolate coating will harden over like that magic shell chocolate from the grocery store. Just keep them in the fridge or freezer as they can melt if out longer than 5 minutes.

Yum! So easy, and my son got to "help" mommy. These are something I use as treats for the boys, minus the sugar high. ;)

Thankful Thursday, Vol. 5

It's been awhile since I did one of these. I love how I totally fell off the wagon with the Thankful Thursday thing. If there's any time for that to happen, it would be in winter.  So here is a list of things I am grateful for this week, along with some info on what's new in my life!

1) I have to start with weather. We had 70 degrees a few days ago and broke a record here in cold Minnesota. I took my oldest outside for a walk down to the creek and some serious sunshine. I can't tell you how good that felt -warm sun on my face!

2) Speaking of weather - hallelujah I'm goin to New Mexico for two weeks coming up on April 1st! I LOVE NM. It's rightfully called "the land of enchantment" for a reason.
My husband and I are flying down with 3 little kids. I'll have to let you know how that goes!

3) Scary change. Right before we go to NM, our part-time nanny is getting married and moving out all on March 26th. To others she's seen as a "nanny" but she's actually my very dear friend and I will be her maid of honor :).

 Then after we got to NM we will be leaving my 5 year old Buckwheat there for two months to spend time with my mom.

I've never been away from him that long and will miss him. I'm also looking forward to giving more attention to the other two kids though. I'm thankful for changes that are big because big scary changes remind us that we are alive right?

4) I'm thankful I'm not pregnant. This week we had the 24 hr flu run through our house. I had it yesterday.  I laid around nauseous feeling like death and just like when I was pregnant last year -the boys showed me NO MERCY. It reminded me to thank God I'm not pregnant again.

One day years from now I'll want another. But for now I remain traumatized and content. :)

5) I'm thankful for how stinkin cute my baby is! Now watch as I shamelessly brag with pictures.

K I'm done. Have a great week!

Growing Where You're Planted

It's been an odd day out here in the country with the 3 kids. The boys didn't have preschool so... what to do?  Skipper threw up 3 times yesterday so that means we cant go to the gym either even though he seems fine now.
Usually my thought process is "ok I can stay home with them and deal with the fighting/ complaining until nap time  (my oldest is so social that he is too bored here) or I can go through the hassle of driving forever to get somewhere and they will fight me on it when it's time to leave and then I'll hear them going ballistic in the back until we get home.

See, we live half an hour from anything out here in the country. Also am I the only one who's kids won't fall asleep in the car? Tell me I'm not alone.... trying to drive to a city was just not happening today.

However, ten minutes away was supposedly a strange hidden new school out here in the middle of nowhere where, where Elijah may go to kindergarten in the fall.

 I did need to get in his application for a lottery to get into this progressive tiny public grade school for next year, so I thought I'd take them with me to drop that off since it's the one place only ten minutes away. Besides that one weird bar.

I had found out about it through a woman who was beading behind the counter of a small novelty store I stumbled into in town while Christmas shopping this winter.

"I have 7 kids and they all went there" She said. "It's public, free, but they do things differently...more out-of-the-box than other schools. You can only get your kid in by the kindergarten lottery, or if thier sibling already goes there. It's totally hidden out in the country by the road you live on - you have to check it out!"
I nodded, in shock that I'm actually adultish enough to have a kid who's going into kindergarten.

With my son's preemie issues and unusually high activity level, I know he needs something out of the ordinary when it comes time for grade school. I had looked up Prarie Creek Elementary school and it sounds awesome!

So for today I just packed up all 3 and we drove down the dirt roads while I looked for the school in the general area I thought it might be (left my phone to charge at home and didn't think to write down directions.)

 After going down several dirt roads seemingly leading to nowhere, I just stumbled upon it.
Nestled within pine trees and between two farms - an Adobe school that looked like it belonged in Mexico. "We're here!" The boys were so excited. Inside it was so strange... a maze-like library right there in the entrance with halls of kids books when you walk in.

We all looked up to see about 8 large animal crafts looming over us suspended from the ceiling made from exotic fabrics and metals.

There were plants and aquariums just lining the walls everywhere. Funky stained glass all around. What is this place? You would never guess in the middle of boring Minnesota farmland there is this eccentric place!

We dropped off the application but the boys were too excited in the parking lot to go home so I had to think fast. "OK, I said "want me to take you to play at some really big rocks?"

Yep. A cemetery. It was on the way back about 7 minutes from my house. That or drive half hour to somewhere else.

So we went to this lone plot of grave stones out there by the dirt road with nothing surrounding it but rolling fields of soon-to-be crops. I parked, let them all out. It was so windy! Out here Ive found that in spring the wind is faster than I knew wind could be because there's nothing to stop it.

I crouched behind a huge tombstone just to get out of the wind while my boys chased each other. A guy in a tractor drove by to the next feild and I felt self-conscious. "I hope I'm not wrong in bringing them to play here, running on top of people's bones and all" I thought.

The wind whipped as I watched Hadassah crawling in her cute pink jumpsuit right over a small square stone with "BABY, 1902" etched in it. She happily squealed while clumsily crawling over fresh grass for the first time ever, trying to get to her rowdy brothers.

"Gosh 1902! How sad...just a baby. My kids are so new to this world in the grand scheme of things!" I thought. This is a weird day for sure. As I rounded up the boys  for mac n cheese at home (they had found some cool civil war era tombstones), they had A LOT of questions about death.

Thinking now as they nap. I don't feel super disrespectful.  I do think bones are sacred. But its not like we dug anything up. I think it was good. The earth is here for those of us who are living. And we're using it.

What is my long-winded point? You have to make do with what you've got, where your at. If it means finding wierd hidden magical schools, and chasing down kids in a graveyard. Wherever you are, you are here now, where you are for a reason. Use what is around you, and become apart of it.

P.S. I just got fliers in my mailbox for a townhall meeting tonight to pick a town supervisor. The townhall for Greenvale Township here is a tiny pole vault barn in the center of some massive cornfields. For the sake of everything cute in this world - I think I might attend. :)

Be Cool. It's a Hemangioma

"What's that red spot on my baby?!" - this is a common freak-out from many a new parent upon seeing this birthmark. It may be red, raised, and bumpy (also known as a strawberry birthmark) like this picture:

That's my daughter at about 3 months old. I call her my little Queen of Hearts!  Isn't' that the cutest little heart shape? She also has one on her thigh and the most adorable mole-sized one right by her mouth.

 

I noticed when googling, that there was lots of medical info on this topic but not tons of personal stories in existence. So I thought I'd share mine thus far for any parent who wants to relate.

 

Let's just say other's reactions when we are out in public have been anything from funny to cute to downright rude. "What IS that thing!? What happened to her?"  "Mommy she has a heart on her head!" It's been super fun.

 

If your baby has a hemangioma. There is usually nothing to worry about. Our own case was a mild one. But you better believe I googled it and looked at all of the horrifying pictures on the internets.

At first I was a tad worried, but a specialist in pediatric dermatology put my mind at ease.

 

A word of caution: do yourself a favor and DO NOT google the images for hemangiomas. They are terrifying, and very rare. If your baby has a hemangioma, it will most likely never grow into anything like that.

It will just make them a little cuter and unique, like my Hadassah.

Here is everything you need to know about them:

It's just a vascular anomolie. Lots of little veins, all bunched up. These tend to appear on the head or face, and my specialist says they are most common on Caucasian females who are born early.  My daughter was early by a week and a half so... I guess she fits the stereotype there. Some studies suggest that the cause lies within the mother's DNA, and that elevated estrogen around the time of birth plays a part.

The Proliferation stage:

They can appear to grow while the baby is an infant. But then between 4-6 months growth usually halts and the hemangioma will be in a resting stage. By about four years old most of these have gone away. Yay! I personally think my baby's are adorable though.

 

I remember the day after she was born while was still in the hospital with her in my lap, noticing a teeny tiny pinkish dot on her head. It grew into the above picture by 3 months!

The only thing to worry about is possible ulceration but again my doctor said that is rare. For example, he was worried about the one on her thigh because it rubs against her diaper so often.

 

We were also told that if it affects her socially later on (like grade school, in the case that it hasn't already disappeared) then we have the option to get it laser off.

They resolve on their own or with mild medications. We did get prescribed Timolol, a topical ointment - to be dabbed on twice a day.  It's just a beta-blocker that they also use for glaucoma patients. In the beginning I stuck to it religiously. At each dermatology appointment the doctor measures all of her hemangiomas with a special tool and takes pictures of them to document progress. For the first few months all 3 of them shrank only very slightly and the one on her head grew.

 

Once she started teething though at around 4 months I was like "you really think the Timolol will stay on the spot by her mouth? Where drool resides permenantly? You know she chews on everything in sight too right?"

 

The doctor insisted that I apply the ointment but I soon realized I was wasting my time so I stopped. Two months later when she was brought back in and had every spot measured, everything had shrank in the same slight amount. What shrank the most was the hemangioma on her thigh, which I never put Timolol on. Hmmmmm....  After that I concluded that this ointment was stupid ineffective.

 

I stopped using the stuff all together and two months later the same amount of progress was made regardless of the lack of medication. Go figure. But hey, we did the whole just in case thing and that's what matters.

 

The "Rest Stage"

Here she is now at ten months. She just had her bath before I took this pic so... wet hair. But you can see the shape is different and the middle part is fading.

Her Hemangiomas are all in the rest stage because they apparently wont grow or shrink much until she is around two, at which point doctors say they will drastically start to go down, disappearing by age 5. 

Many parents have come up to me and told me about their own children's hemangiomas experiences and they all seem to have been similar. I've had a few moms in the grocery store part their toddler's hair to show me an adorable hidden strawberry. :)

If you have your own Hemangioma experience, feel free to share!